SENIOR Manchester police officers faced possible charges of corporate manslaughter following the death of Stephen Oake.

After a full criminal investigation, Merseyside Police decided not to proceed with the prosecution of Greater Manchester Police - or of any officer involved in Operation Salt.

But the Old Bailey heard that Special Branch Chief Insp Simon, the officer in charge, was to be the subject of internal disciplinary proceedings, involving breaches of police regulations.

These have since been concluded and Chief Insp Simon pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct at the hearing.

The main charge alleged he was "not conscientious and diligent in the performance of your duty" in respect of "planning and management of events that culminated in the death of Det Con Oake".

Chief Insp Simon was accused of failing to adequately plan the arrest operation. In particular, he was alleged to have failed to ensure the completion of a documented risk assessment and operational order, and to identity and consider risks.

It was also alleged that he failed to adequately plan, prepare and deliver briefings and failed to give clear instructions on arrest strategy, contingency plans and in relation to searching, safety and security.

These failings, it was claimed, led to uncertainty and confusion at the scene. Chief Insp Simon told the court he intended to plead not guilty to all charges. He later changed his mind and on February 15 this year pleaded guilty to two charges. The disciplinary panel endorsed the plea but decided there was "no requirement for sanction".

The panel which decided not to punish Chief Insp Simon said: "The panel endorses the guilty plea put forward by the officer but unanimously are of the view that there is no requirement to impose an actual sanction.

"In conclusion, the panel would like to formally acknowledge that there has been nothing placed before us today in evidence that places any responsibility for the tragic death of DC Stephen Oake at the door of SB Simon.

"We hope that our findings today will bring some degree of closure to SB Simon at both a professional and personal level and allow him to continue with his career."

ACC Whatton said the actions of other officers examined by Merseyside Police when they looked at how the operation had been planned had been "exonerated".

Chief Insp Simon's briefing to officers at Collyhurst Police station, just minutes before police teams set off for Crumpsall Lane, was just one subject of criticism. Tactical Aid Unit Pc Ian Brookes told the Merseyside Police inquiry: "The briefing was probably the poorest I've received since being a police officer."

Target

Pc Brookes said he could not hear what was being said by Chief Insp Simon.

Special Branch officer Det Con Gail said: "I, personally, felt that we weren't consulted as freely as we normally would be. We weren't really aware of why decisions were being taken."

Officers had to change the nature of the operation once they discovered Kamel Bourgass inside Flat 4, along with the original target of the swoop and a third man.

Det Con Gail explained the dilemma faced by officers. "We'd gone there to do one job and ended up with a separate job. The situation changed drastically."

A number of things went wrong after police entered the first-floor address, eating up yet more time. This left Stephen Oake guarding what turned out to be a ticking human timebomb.

Arrangements had been made to take the original target to Strangeways Prison. But it soon became clear that Strangeways was declining to accept him.

Cells then had to be found for all three prisoners at a specially designated police station - Collyhurst - which involved removing every single prisoner so sterile cells could be provided for the terrorist suspects.

None of the uniformed TAU officers involved in the raid were told of the significance of the arrests..

Acting on a "need to know" basis, Special Branch officers were working "without a shred of protection" themselves, so judged the risk to the uniformed officers as "modest".

Chief Insp Simon had taken up his, then, position in Manchester Special Branch some six months before the Crumpsall Lane tragedy. He spoke of logistical problems at the scene, including communication difficulties.

Simon told the murder trial he was aware of "severe criticisms" of both his conduct and management of the operation. But he maintained just one man was responsible for the death of Stephen Oake - Kamel Bourgass.